On Christmas morning, I began to feel unwell as soon as we sat down to open presents.

I was in severe pain, so I went back up to my bedroom while my siblings made breakfast. In hopes that the pain would pass, I laid down, but the smell of chocolate chip waffles wafting through my room only made me nauseous.

My family was enjoying fresh strawberries topped with whipped cream while I had my head in a trashcan, unbeknownst to them. Cheerful holiday music overpowered my frantic shrieks, so I threw my bedraggled-looking self into the bathtub.

Two hours later, a few family members finally came to check on me, mostly to ensure that I hadn’t drowned as I laid limp in the tub. With pruney skin and an eyeliner-streamed face, I made my way downstairs to join everyone by 1:00pm.

I was a fun-sucker and asked that Jen unwrap my gifts for me–I was more focused on swallowing a bottle of ibuprofen–because opening presents with wild abandon was not possible.

Luckily, our evening plans were low-key and I was able to go to sleep early in preparation of a morning adventure. I normally can’t coerce my sisters to join me in my crazy antics, but I promised them that a 6:00am wake-up call would pay off.

An email advertising a sale worthy of a two-hour drive was enough to get me to the Leesburg outlets as soon as they opened. As I was driving behind a large truck, I thought that rocks were hitting my windshield. Cursing under my breath and memorizing the truck’s license plate number, I switched lanes then realized that it was actually hailing.

Jen and Ali wanted me to turn around, but 60% off at Kate Spade clouded my judgment. The farther we drove, the worse the conditions became. By the time we arrived at the outlets, snow had covered the storefronts, and wool coats and leather boots were far from weather-appropriate.

Turns out that there was a winter advisory–perhaps I should use my weather app more often–that would explain the storm. For the price of being hit in the face with ice (and a few resulting welts), my sisters and I returned to Maryland with a trunk full of shopping bags.

Shopping the day after Christmas–crazy or genius? I think it’s my new Black Friday!